Polish prosecutors investigate MEP Grzegorz Braun over destruction of Ukrainian UPA memorial

Investigation into the memorial destruction

The District Prosecutor's Office in Hrubieszów opened an investigation into the destruction of a stone obelisk and burial site dedicated to Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) soldiers in Białystok, a locality in the Dołhobyczów municipality. On 10 September 2026, Grzegorz Braun, leader of the Confederation of the Polish Crown and a member of the European Parliament, published video footage showing himself and party associate Marcin Miksza striking the monument with heavy tools. Miksza is a former officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police. The incident occurred on 6 September 2026, following Braun's attendance at a local harvest festival in Dołhobyczów. Spokesperson for the District Prosecutor's Office in Zamość Rafał Kawalec stated that the proceedings address the insult of a Ukrainian nationality group by damaging a burial site, an offence carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. Kawalec noted that prosecutors secured recordings, questioned witnesses, and may seek the waiver of Braun's parliamentary immunity.

Braun justified his actions in a post on social media.

An obelisk insulting the memory of the victims of the Ukrainian Genocide against Poles should be removed with professional tools immediately after documenting the crime of Banderism.

Diplomatic condemnation from Kyiv

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on 11 September 2026, describing the actions as an unacceptable provocation during an active war. The ministry urged Polish authorities to conduct a legal assessment, identify those responsible, restore the damaged burial site, and prevent future attacks on Ukrainian heritage locations.

The political fringe in Poland has come up with nothing better than fighting against graves. And this at a time when a real war is underway, posing an existential threat to both Ukraine and Poland.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland echoed these criticisms, stating that resting places must remain protected from political campaigns. The embassy emphasized that Ukrainian memorial sites in Poland and Polish memorial sites in Ukraine require reciprocal respect and legal safeguards.

History of the Białystok burial site

The burial site in the Białystok forest tract commemorates 41 UPA soldiers who died in combat against Soviet NKVD forces in February 1946 near Liski. An initial memorial existed at the location from 1996 to 1997, and a granite stone featuring the Ukrainian coat of arms and the names of the deceased was added in 2019. The site has faced repeated vandalism, with police noting on 7 September 2026 that the inscriptions had been defaced over the preceding weekend. According to the Lublin Voivodship Office, the site is not registered in the official provincial database of war graves. Dołhobyczów municipal leader Grzegorz Drewnik criticized the vandalism while proposing an official transfer of the remains and monument to Ukraine.

Broader disputes over wartime memory

The incident follows bilateral friction between Warsaw and Kyiv concerning the legacy of the UPA, which carried out massacres of Polish civilians in Volhynia between 1943 and 1945. In June 2026, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That decision followed Ukrainian steps to name a military unit after UPA figures and parliamentary legislation creating a National Pantheon honoring wartime nationalist figures. Polish prosecutors in Hrubieszów continue to review evidence before deciding whether to issue formal indictments.